Why It Matters

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an Earth MRI congressional hearing on June 25, 2026, examining the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Mapping Resources Initiative as critical mineral funding faces expiration. The Trump administration backs the program as essential to national security, but congressional infrastructure funding runs out this fiscal year, leaving the initiative's future uncertain.

The hearing revealed a fundamental challenge: the United States has lagged behind other nations in identifying and collecting data on mineral resources, yet faces mounting demand for critical minerals. The Trump administration, which launched Earth MRI in 2019 through executive order, now risks undermining the geologic mapping infrastructure the program depends on through proposed budget cuts.

The Big Picture

Earth MRI was established in 2019 in response to President Trump's Executive Order 13817 on critical mineral supply chains. Congress expanded the program significantly through the bipartisan infrastructure law, providing $320 million over five years. Since inception, USGS has partnered with 46 states and territories for data collection and invested $199 million on data acquisition across the nation.

The program uses airborne geological surveys, high-resolution topographic mapping, and geochemical sampling to address a critical gap: most of the United States remains poorly mapped at the level needed for modern resource management. At the program's start, less than 7 percent of the nation was covered by magnetic and radiometric geophysical surveys at suitable resolution. Earth MRI has nearly quadrupled geophysical survey coverage since inception, achieving 23 percent national coverage by 2024.

The hearing comes as Congress considers updating the minerals on the 2025 Critical Minerals List. USGS's mapping work through Earth MRI is foundational to that determination. The program has already surveyed the Minnesota Iron Range, Alabama Graphite Belt, Idaho Cobalt Belt, and Colorado Mineral Belt, revealing new exploration opportunities.

Yet the broader context matters: over the last 60 years, demand for critical and other essential minerals has increased dramatically while U.S. mineral production has declined precipitously. The United States currently imports more than 50 percent of its supply of more than half of the 50 critical minerals USGS has identified. The nation has full import reliance for 12 of those 50 critical minerals.

What They're Saying

Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN), chair of the subcommittee, convened the hearing at 1324 Longworth House Office Building at 2:00 PM. The subcommittee examined how Earth MRI data supports groundwater management, assessment of landslide and earthquake risks, geothermal exploration, infrastructure planning, and environmental restoration.

Colin Williams, a program coordinator for the mineral resource program at the U.S. Geological Survey stationed in Moffat Field, California, testified alongside Dr. Staci Williams from USGS. They presented data showing Earth MRI has collected information over approximately 1.6 million square kilometers of priority areas since inception. The USGS witnesses emphasized that Earth MRI data is publicly accessible and helps identify areas with mineral potential before companies invest significant resources in exploration.

Dr. Nick Hayman from the Association of American State Geologists represented the 50 state geological surveys. State geological surveys collectively maintain decades of legacy geologic data that must be digitized and integrated with new Earth MRI datasets, yet many state geological surveys operate on budgets of only a few million dollars per year. Hayman stressed that state surveys have direct relationships with landowners, tribal governments, and local regulators—relationships essential to accessing non-federal lands that hold significant critical mineral potential.

Dr. Graham Lederer from Jataware, a technology company focused on applying AI and data tools to geoscientific problems, testified on the private sector's perspective. Lederer has a dual background in government science and the private tech sector, having previously worked with USGS on critical mineral assessment. He emphasized that private geospatial firms currently hold significant idle capacity in airborne survey equipment.

Elizabeth Holley, an Associate Professor in Mining Engineering at Colorado School of Mines and leader of the Mining Geology Research group, testified on workforce challenges. The U.S. faces a significant geoscience workforce shortage, with the number of geology and mining engineering graduates declining over recent decades. Industry partners report difficulty hiring qualified exploration geologists and mining engineers.

Jeff Lovin, Senior Vice President at Woolpert and a past president of Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS), represented the geospatial industry. Lovin brought 34 years of experience as a Certified Photogrammetrist. He noted that the 3DEP (3D Elevation Program) has demonstrated that public-private partnerships can achieve near-complete national lidar coverage.

All four witnesses called for increased and predictable appropriations for Earth MRI, not one-time or sporadic funding. All witnesses supported the principle that Earth MRI data should be freely and openly available to maximize its economic and scientific value.

Political Stakes

The hearing underscores tensions within the Trump administration's mineral strategy. While the administration champions Earth MRI as central to mineral independence, President Trump's FY2027 budget request for USGS is $892.7 million—$527.8 million less than the FY2026 enacted appropriation of $1.420 billion, representing a 37 percent cut. A 37 percent USGS cut would be the largest in the agency's 147-year history and represents an existential threat to the geologic mapping infrastructure that Earth MRI depends upon.

Interior Secretary is Doug Burgum oversees the Department, which stewards more than 480 million acres of surface land, 750 million acres of subsurface and mineral estate, and more than 3.2 billion acres offshore. Non-energy minerals produced from public lands generate billions of dollars for the economy and support tens of thousands of jobs.

The hearing also comes weeks after Woolpert, represented by Lovin, hired former USGS Director Kevin Gallagher as Senior Geospatial Advisor. The timing raises questions about coordination between government mapping initiatives and private industry expansion.

The Competitive Imperative

The United States lags behind Canada and Australia in national-scale airborne geophysical coverage. Both Canada and Australia have used sustained government programs to achieve comprehensive airborne geophysical coverage. Airborne geophysical surveys can cover terrain inaccessible by ground-based methods and cost-effectively reveal subsurface geology, making sustained funding critical to competitiveness.

Earth MRI data has already been used by industry and academia to identify new exploration targets. Porphyry copper and lithium clay deposits in the western U.S. are areas where Earth MRI data has opened new exploration frontiers. Better geologic information from Earth MRI lowers exploration risk for geothermal development and helps reduce unnecessary disturbance to communities and the environment.

The Bottom Line

Bipartisan infrastructure funding for Earth MRI expires at the end of the current fiscal year. Congress must decide whether to reauthorize and fund the program or allow it to lapse. Earth MRI is on track to collect data for over half of the areas in the U.S. with critical mineral potential by the end of the current year, but sustained funding remains uncertain.

The House has already passed H.R. 4090, the Critical Mineral Dominance Act, which codifies Trump administration domestic mining policies into law and requires Interior to identify active, inactive, or proposed mining projects on federal land with potential to increase hardrock mineral production. H.J. Res. 140, which would overturn a mining ban near Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, has passed both chambers.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee held a prior hearing on deep sea mining in January 2026 and another on the critical mineral commodity supply chain in March 2026. Both examined different facets of the administration's push for mineral independence.

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